Cheryl was pressured into drugs at 13 and encouraged by her family to do it in the house – as her homeless addict brother is seen ‘begging for money’

by

She has transformed herself into a UK megastar and household name.

But Cheryl Tweedy’s life before fame couldn’t be more different.

The 42-year-old singer grew up in Newcastle with her four siblings – Andrew, Garry, Gillian, and Joe – and was raised by her parents, Joan Callaghan and Garry Tweedy, on a housing estate.

This week, her brother Andrew, 45, was seen living in a tent outside a supermarket and asking people for money.

People say he spends his days at the Morrisons in Jarrow, hoping customers will buy him something to eat.

Despite now being worth £30 million, Cheryl’s history with drug use continues to affect her family.

Cheryl recalled in her 2012 autobiography My Story, how she felt ‘peer pressured’ into doing drugs.

She explained that people generally thought of her as overly perfect due to her performing, and she just wanted to blend in and stop being noticed.

It wasn’t long before I tried weed as well, mostly because everyone else was doing it. I finally gave in to the pressure at a party one weekend.

‘”Go on, Cheryl, it won’t kill you,” one of the lads said, and so I puff on a joint.

‘I didn’t particularly like it, but after that I started smoking more and more.’ 

‘I smoked from about the age of 13 because everyone did it,’ she added.

In another part of the book, Cheryl shared a story about her sister Gillian suggesting she try a cigarette.

She told me that she was nineteen, living in her own apartment, but she was back at our house on Langhorn Close, smoking marijuana while my mother stood right beside her.

Gillian’s mother knew she smoked marijuana but didn’t interfere, telling her, “You’re old enough to decide for yourself.”

‘But I was four years younger, and I would never have dreamed of smoking in front of my mam.

‘I started shaking my head and looking at Gillian as if to say, “Are you mad?”

‘”Go on,” my sister said cheekily. “Don’t pretend you don’t smoke it, Chery. I know you do.”

I was completely embarrassed, but my mother simply looked at me and said, very calmly, “If you’re going to do something, Cheryl, I’d prefer to know about it, and I’d rather you did it where I can see you.”

Gillian offered me a cigarette, and I took a puff. It didn’t feel good, and I was really angry at her, but at least the situation was clear – we were all being honest about how we felt.

For Cheryl, weed almost became a form of escapism during her teen years.

This eventually led to her first relationship, with a man named Dave who was significantly older – she was only fifteen at the time.

When she discovered her friend had a one-night stand with Dave, she became deeply depressed.

She said the betrayal was devastating. She felt unable to deal with it, and ultimately, she couldn’t.

I slept in late the next day and spent the morning feeling sluggish at home. I smoked marijuana on an empty stomach, which I now find pretty unpleasant, but that’s exactly what I did.

She recalled: ‘I literally turned into a depressed teenager overnight. 

Initially, I didn’t have the heart to tell my mother what Dave had done, as I feared it would deeply upset her as well.

‘Instead, I bottled everything up, smoking more and more weed every day.’

The singer was given a prescription for beta-blockers to help cope with her depression.

She revealed she had been struggling with clinical depression, noting that it ran in her family.

Cheryl started dating Jason Mack and they were together for a year and a half before she successfully auditioned for and joined the group Girls Aloud.

Jason was 27 at the time, while she was only 16.

They bonded over sharing difficult experiences, relaxing with each other, and occasionally using marijuana.

Their relationship moved fast, and they soon started living together. However, the singer began to notice Jason was struggling with drug use.

Cheryl remembered one night when she and Jason stayed at her mother’s house. Once they were in bed, Jason unexpectedly began kicking the covers off forcefully.

‘I didn’t know what was happening, but I was sure his behaviour had to be linked to hard drugs.’

Cheryl described why she contacted his brother, but Jason misrepresented what happened and falsely claimed the singer was using drugs.

She explained that he manipulated her so thoroughly she lost track of what was real. Looking back, though, she realizes he was clearly going through heroin withdrawal that night, desperately needing a fix.

The singer quit smoking marijuana on her own because she wasn’t sure if it was causing her paranoia, and she needed to be clear-headed to figure out what was really going on with Jason.

Cheryl worried she was losing her mind, so she decided to search Jason’s jacket pocket while he was at work to reassure herself.

I discovered a small, yellow plastic container hidden inside a Kinder egg. Inside that container, I found multiple packets of heroin.

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve been following the news about this singer and her breakup with Jason. It’s heartbreaking, but he’s now been very open about his struggles with addiction and admits he really hurt her during their relationship. He’s taken responsibility for putting her through a very difficult time because of his battles with drugs, and it’s a tough situation for everyone involved.

He told the Daily Mirror that when he first met her, he was using a lot of cocaine. He admitted to spending around £200 a day on the drug, and would start drinking bottles of Budweiser as early as 8am, continuing until he eventually passed out – he wasn’t sure when.

However, he said the star would sit with him ‘for hours’ trying to talk him out of buying drugs.

Let me tell you, life can throw you curveballs! After my relationship with Jason ended, I really needed a change. That’s when I decided to audition for Popstars: The Rivals – it was a total leap of faith, and suddenly, I found myself in the public eye. It was a whirlwind!

After a close friend from her childhood died of a heroin overdose in 2005, Cheryl became a strong advocate against drug use.

Budding footballer John Courtney was just 21 years old when he died. Close friend 

Cheryl explained that the experience discouraged her from ever using drugs. She added that the situation was deeply upsetting for John’s entire family and friend group.

The singer has overcome her past struggles with drug use, but her brother, Andrew, is currently living in a tent near a supermarket.

The singer reportedly tried many times to help him overcome his addiction, even paying £20,000 for him to go to rehab.

She first learned her brother was living on the streets in 2021, and recent photos show him currently living outside a Morrisons supermarket in Jarrow, South Tyneside.

According to reports Andrew is said to spend his day hoping the shop’s customers will buy him food.

He admitted he’d been to rehab three times, but is determined not to return. He described himself as someone who makes a little progress, then quickly relapses, saying it happens every time.

Andrew, with a prior criminal record, appeared in court last month after being arrested for public intoxication and disruptive behavior near a Morrisons supermarket.

The Sun reports that Andrew responded to the officers’ arrival with a string of profanities, telling them to “F off” and challenging them with, “What are you going to do?”

The Daily Mail has contacted Cheryl’s representative for comment.

I was reading an interview with Cheryl’s brother from 2021, and it absolutely broke my heart. He basically said that, even though he was living on the streets, he doubted Cheryl even knew. Can you imagine? She’s this huge star, and her own brother was struggling like that, and she didn’t realize. It’s just… devastating. I feel so bad for him, and honestly, it makes me see Cheryl in a totally different light. It’s just awful.

Andrew explained that he’s been struggling with homelessness for over three months, relying on begging for survival. He shared that this experience has been deeply upsetting and emotionally damaging.

‘I’ve got so much f***ing pride. With the family I’ve got, I shouldn’t be here. It’s horrible.

I haven’t heard from anyone. Even though Cheryl isn’t helping, she’s still family, and I don’t hold it against her. She likely doesn’t even realize how bad things are for me. Honestly, I’ve never felt so low.

A newspaper reported finding Andrew, visibly upset, asleep in a tent in northern England. The tent, which he shared with another homeless person, was littered with urine bottles and empty beer cans and served as his temporary home.

Andrew, a father, shared that he became homeless after his relationship ended earlier in the year.

Cheryl’s brother has a long criminal record and has been to court over 50 times.

Andrew struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for many years, even though his sister, Cheryl, repeatedly tried to help him. We don’t know what’s happening with him now.

While the Girls Aloud singer has always kept her personal struggles private, Andrew has often publicly thanked her for her unwavering support.

In a 2008 interview from prison, he told the Sunday Mirror that while Cheryl wanted to support him, he felt beyond help. He admitted he was hurting her, but didn’t believe he could change his ways.

It really hurts me to know I’m upsetting my sister. I even told her she should be disappointed in me, but she insists she loves me and won’t stop trying to support me.

People said she was deeply worried about her brother, to the point where it greatly affected her, and she secretly visited him while he was in prison for a robbery that involved violence.

Andrew said she arrived by herself. He was struck by how sad and exhausted she seemed – a stark contrast to her public image on television or when performing. Seeing her so upset really affected him.

Reports from that time say Cheryl visited her brother in prison and pleaded with him to accept financial help from her and her ex-husband, Ashley Cole, to cover the costs of rehabilitation.

The man from Newcastle turned down her offer of help. He appreciated that she’d supported him throughout the entire process, but he didn’t want to accept it, fearing he wouldn’t be able to meet her expectations.

He openly admitted his mistakes, and in 2008 expressed hope that he could eventually turn his life around and show Cheryl his gratitude for her generosity.

Read More

2026-04-09 02:54